Can the chipkaart be used for the train between Schipol airport and the Amsterdam Centraal station? If so, how do you pay the fare? Where do you buy them in the airport? I have the current RS Amsterdam book (7th edition) and it is way out of date, with a whole page devoted to strippenkaart (p. 38) that the Amsterdam web site says are no longer sold. Fishing around on the OV-chipkaart website it seems like an "Anonymous OV-chipkaart" might be the way to go since I can use it for the trams in Amsterdam (and hopefully in Delft).
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9100 posts
The chipkaart can be used for most all forms of transit in Holland, including Inter-city trains. It works like a debit card, you load money into it and then the fare is deducted. You can purchase the card at the Schipol Airport train station. But if you're mostly going to be traveling around Amsterdam, and making only a couple of day trips to other cities, this might be a better deal: http://tinyurl.com/yerznhs It's an unlimited Amsterdam city transit pass which includes the train to/from the airport to Centraal Station. It's only sold at the Holland TI desk at the airport (not the train ticket counters). For the day trips to other cities simply pay the cash fare at the machines or ticket counters.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
I'd go for an OV Chipkaart (anonymous, cost € 6) because it makes everything easier. They are also the only accepted mean of payment on Amsterdam subway (trams and buses accept cash payments in lieu of a disposable, one ride chipkaart costing a whopping € 3 per ride).